Australia stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 down 0.83%

Investing.com – Australia stocks were lower after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Consumer Staples, Consumer Discretionary and Healthcare sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.83%.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were News Corp B DRC (ASX:NWS), which rose 3.27% or 1.42 points to trade at 44.87 at the close. Meanwhile, Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX:PME) added 3.01% or 5.77 points to end at 197.40 and Growthpoint Properties Australia (ASX:GOZ) was up 1.54% or 0.04 points to 2.63 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Woolworths Ltd (ASX:WOW), which fell 6.10% or 2.00 points to trade at 30.81 at the close. Ansell Ltd (ASX:ANN) declined 4.26% or 1.35 points to end at 30.37 and St Barbara Ltd (ASX:SBM) was down 4.30% or 0.02 points to 0.44.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 626 to 479 and 470 ended unchanged.

Shares in News Corp B DRC (ASX:NWS) rose to all time highs; up 3.27% or 1.42 to 44.87. Shares in Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX:PME) rose to all time highs; up 3.01% or 5.77 to 197.40.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was up 12.52% to 13.35 a new 1-month high.

Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.50% or 13.95 to $2,795.05 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in December rose 0.76% or 0.51 to hit $67.72 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract rose 0.66% or 0.47 to trade at $71.20 a barrel.

AUD/USD was unchanged 0.27% to 0.65, while AUD/JPY fell 0.35% to 100.27.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.02% at 104.18.